Is there any point/hope doing a small claim against inpost.co.uk if they won't even read it?

bigflabbylady

One of the worst customer services experiences I have ever experienced and if you search for the bad reviews on trustpilot you see it is the same trend for all who have any issues.

As the saying goes "it is fine until something goes wrong". Well it didn't take long for me as this is only the second time using them before it happened. They have millions of positive reviews but I don't get how all the courier companies have reviews in the millions. Are they really doing such big numbers? Seems hideously inflated and as below it seems clear they are using bots for their responses so seems par for the course they would also use them for reviews.

Anyway as to the problem. This is only the second time I used them. To make clear from the outset I was using them directly from the app so my contract is with them, which I saw was discussed in other threads on here about inpost. No place like vinted or other 3rd party retailer - inpost directly in the inpost app.

1st time went smoothly and it gave me false confidence that these would be a great company to use more regularly.

Second time I sent something to the value of £40 and I got my mum to drop it off, so it could arrive to me. She was the one who did it the first time and no issues. She did it again, this time at another locker but the locker never registered as having received the parcel and the tracking just said "we are preparing your package" or somesuch, where it has stayed like that for weeks, nearing on a month now. I read at least one other review which mentioned just the same thing. Parcel placed, not registered; out of a parcel and no acknowledgement from inpost.

Customer services are none existent. I have tried both the customer services email and sending a claim report. I believe in both cases it isn't even human responses as it is exactly the same general replies each time.

Every time they say 'oh I am sorry you are having issues, blah blah, it appears the parcel didn't enter the system. Please provide {checklist of 4 to 5 things they ask for} so we can investigate this".

I have sent the requested details 3 or 4 times now but rather than the 'attendant' just ignoring or not getting the previous messages I actually think there is actually no one at the helm at all and they are just totally automated responses based on this wonderful new technology we call AI which is awash everywhere now.

To test this on one of the many replies asking for the checklist of things to send back I sent a message something to the tune of "I do not believe I am actually talking to someone, please give me some sign this is a real human responding" and what response did I get? you guessed it...the same generic message above with the checklist of things I should provide which I have already given many times.

So if I do initiate a small claim what effect will it have if they don't even read it? I know, having read the general guidelines, that you can win by default if you submit it to the court and they don't respond, which, from the above experience, is the most likely case it seems unless they suddenly stir to action but I doubt anyone would read the 'letter before action' in order to do anything about it. So if it were to come about that I won by default what good is it if the company does not even get any summonses or demands to pay the monies back and the court fees?

Couldn't I just be left out of pocket of the parcel and also the court fees they will not pay?

I can spare the £40 but I am thinking to do it on principle as I am fed up of these companies thinking they can run roughshod over the small guys just because they reach a certainly level of success and the negative experiences are just collateral damage. Seems there are hundreds if not thousands of others who have had the same experience as me and just stuck out of pocket as the compensation the company offers means absolutely nothing if they will not follow through when something goes wrong.

A_Geordie

So if I do initiate a small claim what effect will it have if they don't even read it? I know, having read the general guidelines, that you can win by default if you submit it to the court and they don't respond, which, from the above experience, is the most likely case it seems unless they suddenly stir to action but I doubt anyone would read the 'letter before action' in order to do anything about it. So if it were to come about that I won by default what good is it if the company does not even get any summonses or demands to pay the monies back and the court fees?

Does it matter whether they read your letter before action or respond to the claim? You can obtain default judgment and then seek to enforce it by sending in bailiffs to seize goods.  Like most large companies, a letter before action tends to get ignored but usually they will respond to a claim when they receive it but even if they don't, they will likely pay up than try to defend it for this particular amount being claimed - that's assuming you send it to the correct address in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules and not get yourself in a muddle by sending it to a different address that shouldn't be used.

visidigi

bigflabbylady said:

inpost directly in the inpost app.

Second time I sent something to the value of £40
but the locker never registered as having received the parcel
I have tried both the customer services email and sending a claim report. 

So if I do initiate a small claim what effect will it have if they don't even read it? 

TLDR

That's actually your 'question' - all the rest of it is noise that isn't relevant.

So did your mum put the item in, close the door, tap all complete on the screen and then you got the email to confirm its on its way?

Or did you not get anything on email?

An LBA process is likely to elicit a response - as long as you send it to the correct place/person.

sheramber

In post is a Polish company. 

Alderbank

sheramber said:

In post is a Polish company. 

The head office of the parent company is indeed in Kraków.

However unless the OP's mum sent the parcel from somewhere like Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski (south of Warsaw) she probably used one of the lockers in the UK, all of which belong to InPost UK Ltd.

InPost UK's website says,
'InPost UK Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under number 08090698. Our registered office is at Moray House, 23-35 Great Titchfield Street, London, United Kingdom, W1W 7PA.

robatwork

Moray House you say?

When you send a par-cel
And get bitten to hell
That's A Moray

Ugly fish on the coast
Ends up sent by InPost
That's A Moray


I'll let myself out

bigflabbylady

A_Geordie said:
Does it matter whether they read your letter before action or respond to the claim? You can obtain default judgment and then seek to enforce it by sending in bailiffs to seize goods.  Like most large companies, a letter before action tends to get ignored but usually they will respond to a claim when they receive it but even if they don't, they will likely pay up than try to defend it for this particular amount being claimed - that's assuming you send it to the correct address in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules and not get yourself in a muddle by sending it to a different address that shouldn't be used.

Of course it doesn't matter if the result is I would get the money back. That was what I was getting at, that if they never see any messages then how would they ever pay it back if they weren't aware of the issue. If the responses are all automated then no one is reading them so it is like letters being sent to an address when no one lives there.

So if they didn't respond it would end up like an episode of Can't Pay We'll Take it Away for them?

I noticed that the site is setup in a way to make it almost impossible to contact them. Many links redirect straight back to the homepage or such like and I found in the past (before I had this issue and was just making a general enquiry) if you tried to send a message on the site then it would just come up with a none descript 'error' which I don't think was by chance given the trend before. That was before the automated messages so I guess their 'solution' was to have AI messages instead.

It is as if they want to automate the business completely with their only interaction being to collect the income.

bigflabbylady

visidigi said:

bigflabbylady said:

inpost directly in the inpost app.

Second time I sent something to the value of £40
but the locker never registered as having received the parcel
I have tried both the customer services email and sending a claim report. 

So if I do initiate a small claim what effect will it have if they don't even read it? 

TLDR

That's actually your 'question' - all the rest of it is noise that isn't relevant.

So did your mum put the item in, close the door, tap all complete on the screen and then you got the email to confirm its on its way?

Or did you not get anything on email?

An LBA process is likely to elicit a response - as long as you send it to the correct place/person.

Thanks, I do often have issues with brevity.

Yes indeed it is the second case, no email despite her having gone through the same process as before. As mentioned in the OP the tracking never changed from 'parcel is being prepped', which I believe was the original message after making to order. Did not register on the system at all.

I read a review from another lady where she experienced just the same. That is what is frustrating there is no way on our part to 'prove' she didn't put it in and like the lady says, it almost appears by design to avoid accountability on inpost's part. I did find a couple more threads of similar cases though where when they did investigate (must have been a long time ago when they still actually bothered to do any customer services!) that they were able to check the cctv from the locker.

I have read that it used to be a good services for some, who had been using it for sometime, but it took a sharp nosedive after the Yodel acquisition and heightened demand with the general thought being they are stretched far beyond their means.

I will add that when we did it the first time I got an email response very soon after she had deposited the parcel to the locker so it did seem off right away but I thought it could just be it had to 'work its way through' and there could be some variance now and then and the website faqs also stated this. It said it can take perhaps 48 hours if there is a delay in tracking and to wait 72 hours before contacting but of course it never did, so my original suspicions were correct.

A_Geordie

bigflabbylady said:

Of course it doesn't matter if the result is I would get the money back. That was what I was getting at, that if they never see any messages then how would they ever pay it back if they weren't aware of the issue. If the responses are all automated then no one is reading them so it is like letters being sent to an address when no one lives there.

So if they didn't respond it would end up like an episode of Can't Pay We'll Take it Away for them?

I noticed that the site is setup in a way to make it almost impossible to contact them. Many links redirect straight back to the homepage or such like and I found in the past (before I had this issue and was just making a general enquiry) if you tried to send a message on the site then it would just come up with a none descript 'error' which I don't think was by chance given the trend before. That was before the automated messages so I guess their 'solution' was to have AI messages instead.

It is as if they want to automate the business completely with their only interaction being to collect the income.

You have to remember your initial human contact is always going to be low level customer service personnel who are just following orders/policy. Quite a few companies are now turning to non-human interaction support or as you suggest here, making it difficult to contact them. It's all intentional tactics on the basis that people will eventually give up because it's too difficult or they cannot be bothered with the faff, therefore saving the company cost and expense.

The easiest way to get around this is to write to their head office or registered business address, typically you can find that address in the terms and conditions or in the privacy policy on their website (took me all but 5 seconds to click on InPost's Terms of Service and at the top lists out their registered address). Snail mail is a pain the backside but there's always at least this method of communication available, unless you're dealing with a dodgy trader.

If they did not respond to the claim within the required period, then you could obtain a default judgment. The court would send out the default judgment which at that point will be received by someone a bit more senior and action might be taken then. If it doesn't then yes you can instruct bailiffs but they would be county court bailiffs to seize goods in lieu of payment. The people you see on that TV show are High Court Enforcement Officers who handle disputes of a large sum (£600+ if I recall). The principle is the same but County Court bailiffs are employed by the courts. 

Ectophile

If it does come to making a small claim, make sure you use the correct company name and registered address as given on the Companies House website. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house

If you need to send a legal document, then send it first class.  It is assumed to have arrived one clear working day later unless they can prove it didn't.  Get proof of posting from the Post Office.

bigflabbylady

A_Geordie said:

You have to remember your initial human contact is always going to be low level customer service personnel who are just following orders/policy. Quite a few companies are now turning to non-human interaction support or as you suggest here, making it difficult to contact them. It's all intentional tactics on the basis that people will eventually give up because it's too difficult or they cannot be bothered with the faff, therefore saving the company cost and expense.

The easiest way to get around this is to write to their head office or registered business address, typically you can find that address in the terms and conditions or in the privacy policy on their website (took me all but 5 seconds to click on InPost's Terms of Service and at the top lists out their registered address). Snail mail is a pain the backside but there's always at least this method of communication available, unless you're dealing with a dodgy trader.

If they did not respond to the claim within the required period, then you could obtain a default judgment. The court would send out the default judgment which at that point will be received by someone a bit more senior and action might be taken then. If it doesn't then yes you can instruct bailiffs but they would be county court bailiffs to seize goods in lieu of payment. The people you see on that TV show are High Court Enforcement Officers who handle disputes of a large sum (£600+ if I recall). The principle is the same but County Court bailiffs are employed by the courts. 

How do you break quotes on this forum? Does not seem apparent as on others.

Good point that it is more like a bluff to see if you have the mettle to keep hammering away until you get to someone who will actually help. Still just as annoying. This is appaling customer services.

I actually had only just closed up with a claim with their other company Yodel after just the same thing, lost parcel. Lost for a month, took about another month to get the refund. I thought that was one of the worst but this one takes the cake. Although the reps were next to useless at least I knew I was speaking to a real person in that case and they did so some rudimentary pen pushing now and then. Eventually though once a case was opened to investigate and they took my evidence it was actually dealt with swiftly and the process took just days, after several weeks of getting to that point.

I did get another email from inpost today, several days, after my last plea for action.

Hi, 

 

Thanks for getting in touch with InPost UK about parcel xxxxxx. My name is Mateusz and I'll be taking care of your case. 

 

I'm sorry to hear that your parcel isn't progressing as you expected.

 

We are currently investigating this case. Once the investigation will be finished, we will contact with you with the results. 

 

Please let me know if there's anything else I can do to help you with this or if you have any other questions.

Do I have a right to make a small claim if they keep responding like this 'now and then'? because at some point it can be seen as them just stringing me along. Can't it be said they were responding and cooperating so I should not have made a claim or do I still have the right if they have not dealt with it in a timely fashion?